


Coming Home

by firagarif



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Angst, Everyone Needs A Hug, Fluff, M/M, Minor Character Death, Minor Original Character(s), Post-Season/Series 02, Space Gays, Spoilers, klangst, probably
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-25
Updated: 2018-04-11
Packaged: 2018-11-19 00:17:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11301813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/firagarif/pseuds/firagarif
Summary: The paladins are going home to Earth. They can finally tell their families they are okay. They can explain why they disappeared and where they will be going in the future. But some paladins are reluctant to leave home again.Then the Galran Empire shows up at Earth's doorstep, preparing to absorb it's masses of quintessence. Can Voltron defeat the Empire when they are short of a leader? Can they afford to lose?~This got abandoned when I realized Voltron just stopped holding my interest after season 2. I'm real sorry about this. Maybe I'll pick it up again one day, but it's not going to be today.





	1. Chapter 1

It just wasn't the same. From training regimens, to simply eating the green 'nutritious' alien goo served by Coran, doing anything in the Castle of Lions was saddening. It would always be, for the four paladins. As long as Shiro was gone, the team couldn't even manage to get back in their lions. 

Not that the galaxy needed them anyway. Zarkon had been defeated by them, and peace should be restored within the universe. At least, that's what they could hope for. Albeit the positive thinking, it was evident that there would never be true tranquility. But it didn't stop them from thinking so.

Now that the Galran Empire wasn't an imminent threat, Allura spoke to the team of them returning home. She hoped it would relieve and distract all of them from Shiro's disappearance. He wasn't dead, she knew as much. People don't just disappear out of thin air. Maybe that was an 'Earth' thing. Some paladins knew that trick when they broke something.

She waited until they were under a night cycle and then directed Coran to ready the ship for jumping through a wormhole. The male ginger Altean quickly got to work, signalling they were set for the jump. Allura pressed her hands on the controls. They shined brightly under her palms. A large spiral formed in front of the Castle, and they slowly inched into it's spiralling epicenter. 

On the other side revealed a green and blue planet. A small rocky moon orbited it while millions of satellites hung just above the atmosphere. Coran picked at his mustache, examining the planet. "So that's Earth, eh?"

Allura nodded, walking off her small pedestal and towards the wall. Earth wasn't a pure water planet, but it wasn't lacking water either, she dully noted.

The entrance to the control room hissed open, and Keith ran in. He was wearing his paladin suit and his bayard was drawn. After realizing there was no fighting occuring, he sheathed his sword. "Princess? What happened?" The red paladin looked around, noticing the two Alteans were looking at Earth. It clicks in his head.

"Why are you out of bed?" The princess asks, a little abashed she wasn't going to be able to surprise him. Keith winces, looking to the side to avoid her glare.

"I wasn't-. I was training." He admits, knowing the Altean wanted him to be resting. It was useless, sleep evaded him per usual. Ever since they had lost Shiro.

Coran presses furiously on his control console, either oblivious or not caring for Keith. His eyes widen and his head quickly snaps up. "This planet. It's full of rich, pure quintessence!"

Allura nears, glancing at the screen Coran has up. Keith would do the same, but he already knows the screen is in Altean which he has yet to learn. All he can witness is the princess taping away on the console Coran's usually taping away at, and her eyes widen similarly to her partner Altean. "How can a planet contain so much quintessence?"

Keith hums thoughtfully, nearing the two of them to feel included in the conversation. "Isn't quintessence the amount of life force?" The paladin asks. Allura doesn't look up to give her answer.

"Yes, and Earth's got a lot of it. It's a miracle the Galra never attacked them." She continues, turning back to the planet. "They would be much stronger if they did."

'It's a good thing Zarkon is dead' is the unspoken words in the air. They all know it, but don't bring it up. "Ready the landing gear Coran. We're going to visit Earth." Allura pads back to her console, pressing on the two stands. They glow again. Keith decides not to mention humans and their reactions to alien things. It's not like they'll be shot out of the sky.

And Keith's right. The castle makes a safe descension to Earth; in the middle of a desert. A raging sandstorm outside patters lightly against the ships exterior. Even under such a reassurance, the Alteans consensize no measure should be dismissed and put up the particle barrier. Allura then turns on the intercom.

"Wake up paladins! Coran and I," Coran shouts distantly, pitching in: "the Princess!" Allura softly chuckles, coming back over the Castle's speakers. "We have some great news to share with you all!" The intercom is then shut off, and the female Altean signals her male servant to cut the visuals on the wall.

The desert outside fades off the walls, turning to pitch black.

Pidge and Hunk simultaneously enter the control room. They are both yawning, rubbing tiredly at their eyes. "What's the news?" The green paladin asks bluntly, and Allura can't help but chuckle at how disheveled she is. Pidge wears a large green shirt and holds a small plushie of her lion. The princess doubts she has even realized she's still holding it. Hunk beside her isn't much better, but he doesn't have a plushie with him.

Allura smiles. "That'll have to wait until Lance is here." Which Pidge sighs at. The blue paladin probably didn't hear the announcement. Her thoughts are mutual to the others in the room. All except Hunk who has started dreaming of food while standing.

"Calzones." The yellow paladin drawls out under his breath.

"Seriously Hunk? Are calzones all you think about?" Pidge asks, poking at the larger paladin. 

While the yellow and green paladin bicker about food, the red paladin steps up to the main doors. "I guess I'll go get him." He turns and leaves down the hall. The trip to the bedrooms is quick, which was helpful for easy access to their lions. When they could still form Voltron; when Shiro was still part of the team. He huffs out, closing his eyes. Where did Shiro go? He concentrates to banish his thoughts, continuing towards Lance's room. Right now, his focus needs to be elsewhere. Once Shiro can contact the team, he will. He just needs to wait.

Keith knocks on the door. "Lance? C'mon, get up." No response. Reluctantly, he presses on the keypad beside the doors. The doors open and he steps in. The blue paladin is sleeping, a pair of black headphones resting over his ears. Incoherent, low music can be heard. Sighing, he nears. The red paladin places his hand on Lance's shoulder, giving him a weak nudge. "Lance, wake up." He knows the other can't hear him, but tries anyway.

Luckily the contact has woken the blue paladin, who blinks his eyes open a little. "Keith? What's up bud?" He yawns out, reaching up and sliding off the headphones.

The red paladin scans over Lance, who is ready to close his eyes and go back to sleep as soon as he can. "Allura wants to talk with us." Keith states.

Lance involuntarily groans, his head rolling over and his eyes close. "Too tired. Can't she wait? I wanna sleep." When Lance doesn't make a move to get up, Keith takes the matter into his own hands. Literally. The blue paladin has already dozed off, signified by his breaths.

Gingerly, he wraps an arm under Lance's neck and then tucks the other under his knees. He picks him up off the bed, and begins back towards the control room. If Lance wants to fight, he's going to have to wake up.

Keith returned with Lance, sleeping soundly in his arms. He looked around at everyone's shocked faces. "What?" He asked, oblivious to the reasoning behind their surprised faces.

"Now please, continue." Pidge egged on, approaching Allura.

The princess, not entirely pleased with Lance sleeping; starts explaining anyway. "I know how much some of you wanted to go home. It's been a while since you've been home, and you didn't have a chance to say goodbye. I'm well aware of this. If I could go back to Altea, I would in a tick. So I know how much it must mean to go back to Earth. Zarkon is defeated, and I think we all need a break. Coran, if you may, please bring the screens back up." The Altean princess signalled to her fellow Altean, who pressed a few buttons on his console. The wall buzzed to life, revealing the desert outside.

"I can't say how long we can stay here. But I hope that it'll be enough to explain to your friends and family. You may take your lions to show them proof. And if you run into any trouble, please contact Coran or I immediately." Allura spoke, smiling at the paladins.

Hunk hummed thoughtfully. "So, we're on Earth?" Allura nodded. He hummed some more, before he realized something. "Could I borrow Coran? I need to show him, like, every food ever so he can make it available on the Castle." The yellow paladin showed no signs of drowsiness, now intent on introducing the Altean to Earth food.

"Would that be alright, princess?" Coran asked, somewhat interested in joining Hunk. Allura entertained the thought.

"I don't see why not. I can handle the Castle for a few vargas."

"Splendid! Let's go then!" Coran shut off his console, following Hunk out the door.

Pidge adjusted her glasses, turning back to Allura after watching Coran and Hunk leave. "I- I want to go see my mother again. I need to tell her where I've been and explain some things. A lot of things." The green paladin requested, moving to leave. "See you in a few vargas."

"Goodbye Pidge." Allura spoke, finally turning to Keith and Lance. "And what about you, Keith?" She asked, slowly moving to stand in front of him.

Keith sighed, looking down. "I don't know. There's nothing really left for me here." That's true, Allura reasoned. Keith was always alone. Always wanted to be.

She didn't want to suggest anything and seem like she meant it crudely. But Allura wanted Keith to enjoy something about Earth, any of its qualities, before they were back to saving the universe. "Why don't you go with Lance?" 

At that, Lance lightly stirred. He looked up at Keith, who he could feel holding him. "Put me down." He muttered, and the red paladin obliged by dropping him. "Oww!" He cried out. "What was that for, jerk?"

Keith huffed, crossing his arms. "Didn't want you to think we were having a bonding moment or anything." Lance growled, quickly standing up. He opened his mouth to retort, but was interrupted.

"Both of you knock it off and get in your lions. Get out of the Castle before I lock it's defense systems on you." Allura threatened, mildly irritated they couldn't just get along for once. Keith grabbed Lance by the wrist and led him out the door, sighing as it closed behind them.

"Lions? Get out of the Castle? What's going on here?" Lance asked suspiciously.

The red paladin looked over the blue paladin. "We are on Earth now. So go get your outfit so we can go."

Lance almost fell over. They were going home? He could go see his mom and his dad and his brothers and sisters? "What?!" Keith pushed him, making him topple over. The shock from being home numbed the pain.

The red paladin winced, opening his mouth to apologize. Then shook his head, deciding against it. Even though he wanted to say sorry. Instead, Keith grabbed the blue paladin by the arm and pulled him up. "Did you not hear me? I said: we are on Ea-mmf!"

The brunet forced his hand over the Galran's mouth. "I heard you the first time." Keith nodded in response, removing Lance's hand from his lips.

Both the red and blue paladins headed down the Castle's vast and spacious hallways, coming to a stop at the blue paladins room. The red paladin pressed his back to the wall, crossing his arms. "I'll wait out here." Keith commented, noticing Lance was watching him through narrowed eyes. Why was he looking at him like that? Lance sighed, putting his hands in his pockets.

He entered his room. Keith looked around at the walls, his eyes tracing the small blue details. Did he really want to go with Lance? 

The blue paladin walked out a moment later, wearing his paladin suit. Keith moved away from the wall, leading him back towards the main room. "You haven't told me why I'm going with you. Why's that?" Lance asked, jogging up to Keith. The red paladin sighed.

"Where else can I go?" He muttered, and even though he thought Lance couldn't hear him, he had.

Lance hummed thoughtfully, looking away. He didn't mean to upset the black haired teen. The rest of the walk to the elevators was quiet.

Both paladins took the elevator down, reaching the Lions docking bay. It was just Blue, Red and Black now. Blue hummed awake, getting down on the floor to greet her paladin. The blue paladin smiled, running to his lion. Lance outstretched his arms, leaning against her muzzle. "Blue! I missed you girl." He muttered softly, rubbing her metal exterior.

Keith watched the exchange, before looking over at Red and Black. Red hummed to life as well, purring loudly. The lion did not move however. Black was still silent. Which lion was he to pilot? He wanted to pilot Red, but Shiro had asked him to be the leader and pilot Black if he was gone. He looked at Red again, then over to Black. He took a step towards Black.

"Keith! Let's go!" Lance yelled, grabbing Keith by the forearm and dragging him away into his lion. The Blue lion.

"Hey! What if I wanted to take my own lion?" Keith yelled as he was led into Blue's cockpit.

"We can't hide two lions mullet-face. We are taking Blue and that's that. She really wants to see my family." Lance jumped into his seat, grabbing a lever. "Ready?" He didn't wait for Keith to respond, pulling the lever back as far as he could. Blue roared, bolting towards the nearest airlock. It hissed out some air, then spiraled open, allowing the blue lion to fly outside. Blue zoomed up into the sky, spinning rapidly. Then she nose-dived, and then she did a front flip.

Lance laughed, looking over to Keith. "She's a little excited to be out again."

"I can tell." He muttered back, looking outside at the desert.

Lance nodded, turning back to the controls. "Alright Blue, let's see if we can find them." The Blue paladin pressed a few buttons. A small box popped up. "Got it, entering coordinates now." He typed the numbers into Blue's console. "And done." He announced, smiling.

"So how do you think your folks will take you saving the galaxy?" Keith asked, looking at Lance. The pilot sighed out, looking solemnly at the console.

"I don't really know. I want them to be proud of me, but I don't want them to know I'll be leaving again."

"Do you want to leave again?"

Lance swallowed a lump in his throat, looking up. "Hey, isn't that the Garrison?" A large structure was in the horizon. "Blue, let's go around." There was a lurch as Blue changed direction, heading off to the side.

"Lance, are you going to-"

An explosion went off, and red lights blared all around Blue's screens. The force sent Blue spinning. "What was that?!" Lance asked, pressing buttons furiously on the console. Keith was sent to the floor with nothing holding him down. The lion rumbled, communicating it's response to it's pilot. "A what? Blue get us out of here, it's the Garrison. They're trying to shoot us down." Lance pulled on the lever again, shooting them forward. They zoomed past the building, leaving it behind them. "Sorry about that girl." He distinctly remembered Keith was with him a couple of minutes ago. Lance looked down at the ground, seeing Keith sitting on it. "Just a little turbulence." He smiled out.

Keith sighed, standing back up. "A little?"

"Hey Keith? Could you hold this button for a minute or two? It's really important you do." The blue paladin motioned to a large button on the holographic console. Keith nodded, pressing his pointer finger on it. The blue lion rumbled out a response, but Keith didn't know what. Before he could ask, Lance stood from his chair and left for the back room. Was he supposed to keep pressing this?

Lance came back, a small bundle in his arms. He sat down again, unwrapping the bundle to show its contents. It was a package of small green balls of the alien goo the Alteans called food. He lifted his legs, laying them on the console to recline back.

"Should I keep pressing this?" Keith asked, looking over at Lance. The blue paladin hummed, looking up at him.

"What? Oh, yeah. Don't let go of it." Lance answered, eating a small ball of goo.

Keith sighed. "Where did you get those?"

"Stole 'em." The pilot responded, eating another.

The red paladin looked back towards the window. They had seemingly made their way into a grassy field. Blue roared out, making Lance shoot up. A few food blobs rolled onto the floor.

"We're here!" He called, deafening Keith for a minute. Lance sloppily tied up the sack of food again, pushing the lever forward and typing at the console. He pushed Keith's hand off, going back to landing Blue.

Keith looked at his hand, then at the button he was supposed to be holding down, then to Lance. "What was the purpose of me pressing that button?"

The blue paladin snickered, successfully landing the Blue lion. "Just keeping you on your toes." He shot out of his chair, throwing the sack of food into the corner, and leaving.

"So you made me do that for nothing?!" Keith fumed, jogging after him. They both exited the lion's mouth. For the first time, Keith realized they were standing in front of a large house. A red wooden barn was beside it.

They took off their helmets, tucking the helmets under their arms. Lance walked forward, legs wobbling in anticipation. His family, he could finally see them again. Keith followed Lance as they neared the wooden fence. A tall woman was bent over on the ground, tending to some kind of plant. Perhaps she hadn't noticed them land. Lance gasped, catching her attention.

She stood, revealing she was roughly Lance's height. "Lance?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I still have not moved on from Season 3. I remind myself I need to continue, but lately I have been slacking. The story only follows end of Season 2 to Season 3.

Keith looked to the blue paladin, who was looking at the girl with watery eyes. "Camila!" He cried out, pushing open the gate and running up to her. Camila, in turn, smiled widely, pulling him into an embrace.

"Lance! You're back! You're back!" The woman sobbed, squeezing him tightly. The brunet nodded against her shoulder, squeezing her back.

Keith awkwardly closed the gate behind him, walking up to them.

The woman noticed him, breaking out of the embrace with Lance. "And who are you? Has my little brother finally brought a man home for me?" Camila laughed, placing her hands on her hips broadly.

Lance gasped, crossing his arms and turning away defiantly. "Yeah, right."

Keith looked between the siblings before stepping assertively forward. "My name's Keith, the red paladin of Voltron."

"Huh?" Camila looked at him quizzically. "Voltron? What's that, some kind of gang?"

Lance hushed Keith, pushing him a little out of the way. "I'll explain it all, I promise. Just, not right now, okay?" The blue paladin asked, gaining a thoughtful look from his sister.

"Okay, okay. My name's Camila. I'm this baby's sister." She grinned, pointing at Lance with her thumb.

"I'm not a baby!" The blue paladin cried out defensively. "Where's everyone at?"

"The kids are inside, but Mama, Papa, Grandma and José are out right now." And for the first time she acknowledged the giant blue lion behind them. "You'll probably want to hide that in the barn." Camila smiled, crouching back down on the ground.

Lance nodded, walking back towards the gate. He unlocked it and pulled it open. "Keith, you coming?"

Keith glanced down at Camila who had gone back to tending to the plants. "Yeah I'm coming." He turned on his heel and followed his blue companion. Lance called Blue, who bounded over like a little puppy. The three of them made their way to the barn.

The brunet pried open the large wooden doors, peering inside. The barn was mostly filled with hay. Lance motioned for Blue to follow as he walked further into the wooden structure. The lion followed, cautiously entering and looking at its new surroundings. "What do you need a barn for?"

Lance snapped his head to Keith. "Animals, duh."

The red paladin looked around again. "What animals?"

"Cows mostly. They are out grazing right now. But we also have two horses and five sheep." Lance nods, looking around. "Blue, you should probably stay in the back."

Blue purrs in acknowledgement, moving over Lance and sitting at the back of the barn. The blue paladin walks up to her, rubbing her on the muzzle. "Okay girl, Keith and I are going inside the house for a while. Think you can behave by yourself?" He teases, making the lion nudge her snout against him lightly.

Keith really doesn't see why it's necessary to lecture the mechanical lion, but he doesn't feel the need to comment. So he just watches the exchange from afar. Blue finally powers down and Lance turns back towards Keith. The blue paladin grabs his helmet and puts it on. "Put your helmet back on, we've got some introductions in place." Keith looks at him quizzically, wondering what he means, but decides not to ask and puts on his red helmet.

They leave the barn and head back towards the house. Lance flips open the gate. Keith follows him in and is about to close it when his blue companion tells him to leave it. The red paladin nods, turning back towards the house. Camila looks up at them, giving them a smile as they pass. Keith attempts a smile back, but his mouth won't form it properly and he drops it with a sigh. He strides over to Lance, following him inside the house.

"Where are we going?" He asks, but is hushed abruptly by Lance.

"Quiet Keith! We're hunting a pair of little kids!" The blue paladin whisper-yells. It wouldn't surprise Keith if Lance was being louder than him. The red pilot nods though and continues to follow Lance through the house. The hallway they are currently in is small and has many pictures of smiling faces on the wall.

Lance puts his hand on Keith's shoulder, holding him in place. The blue paladin then places his ear on the door.

"-he's way better than Ben! Anything he touches, he turns into!"

"Nuh-uh! Ben's way cooler! He can turn into awesome aliens! You just like him 'cause you think he's hot!"

"Shut up! I do not!"

"Yeah you do! You totally like him!"

"Nuh-uh!"

"Yeah-huh!"

"He's way stronger than Ben! Ben's weak!"

Keith moves from under Lance's grip, leaning his ear against the door. "What're they saying?" He whispers.

Lance holds his finger to his lips. "Shhh! They'll hear you!" The blue paladin responds, and there's no way the people on the other side didn't hear that.

"José, is that you?" One of them calls. With a sigh, Lance grabs the doorknob.

"They've figured us out, now we'll have to move in!" Lance snickers towards Keith, pushing the door open. He broadly enters, hands held tightly on his hips. "We have been sent to capture you Earthlings!"

"Huh?" Keith asks from the doorway, watching as the kids stare up at Lance. The small action figures in their hands are dropped as they both charge and tackle Lance. He falls to his knees, capturing both of them in an embrace.

"Lance! Big brother!" The small girl yells, hugging him around the neck.

The small boy is sobbing loudly, his head snuggled into Lance's chest. Small arms wrapping around his waist. The blue paladin rubs soothing circles into both his sibling's backs. "It's okay guys, I'm back." He half-sobs out. His little sister is crying into his shoulder now too.

The girl backs up, rubbing at her red swollen eyes. "We thought you were gone." She sniffles, rubbing her nose with her sleeve. Lance shakes his head, continuing to soothe his brother who's still crying against him.

"I'm back now. And I'm really, really sorry I couldn't tell you I'd be leaving." Lance assures them, giving his younger brother a light pat on the back. Keith leans against the doorframe. He isn't used to this kind of situation, but assumes it be best he wait it out.

The younger brothers slowly detaches himself from Lance, smiling up at him with his tear-stained face. "We really missed you a lot big brother." He sniffles out, hands over his face.

Lance looks between the both of them, tearing up a little. "I missed you guys a lot too."

The sister has stopped crying now, and she's smiling mischievously at Lance. "Mikey, you okay now?" She asks, watching the smallest boy nod and rub away his tears.

"Yeah, I'm good." He confirmed.

"Then let's get him!" The girl hollered, jumping and pushing Lance onto the floor.

The blue paladin laughed as he was slammed into the ground on his back, being covered by his two siblings. "Keith, help! I need cover!" Keith tensed at the doorway. He looked around, searching for a weapon. "Use your finger-guns." Lance suggested, pretending to be dead by sticking out his tongue and closing his eyes.

Keith formed his hands into a gun, pointing it at a kid. "Uh, pew-pew?" His voice was dull, and it sounded nothing like a gun. The kids climbing all over Lance however quickly turned on the red paladin. The boy, Miguel, fell over, pretending to be shot down.

"I'm down Val, go on without me."

"What do you think I'm doing?" She sneered back, earning a glare from her fake-dead twin brother. Val turned to Keith, making her own finger gun. "Get ready for my laser gun!" The girl mimicked a gun being fired directly at Keith. Keith raised his eyebrow, expecting to feel something. He looked at Lance on the ground, mouthing 'what now?'

Lance peered an eye open at him, mouthing back a few words. It was kind of hard to make out what they were, and all Keith caught was 'fall', 'dead' and 'act'. He nodded, grabbing at his chest where the girl had pretended to shoot him. He cried out in agony, reaching out with an arm before he collapsed onto his knees and the rest of his body followed. He landed his torso right over Lance's, crushing the blue paladin under him. Lance winced, muttering out an 'ow!'.

Val pumped up in the air. "I killed the aliens! I killed the aliens!"

Lance sat up, nudging Keith off him. The red paladin was very still and quiet. "Keith? Get up." He nudged him again, but no response.

"Something wrong with him?" Miguel asked, getting up and padding towards Keith. 

The blue paladin tensed, realizing he wasn't breathing. "Keith? Keith?! Buddy, wake up, come on!" Lance moved the red paladin onto his back, removing his red helmet. He then removed his own. "Miguel, Val, go get Camila!" He ordered and the twins nodded with scared faces. They both ran out of the room.

Lance's communicator in his helmet buzzed to life. "Lance! What's happening? The red lion is on a rampage! Is Keith okay?" He could distantly hear something crash.

"I- I don't know! We were playing and then he stopped breathing! I'm going to try-." Another crash and then static from the other side. "Allura? Princess?!" Nothing.

Lance sucked in a large breath, leaning close. He covered Keith's nose, then slowly planted his lips over his. Before he could try and continue giving mouth-to-mouth, a hand pressed against his chest. He was pushed back, butt landing onto the ground. Keith sat up, looking at him funny. "Were you kissing me?" The red paladin accused him, frowning.

Lance gasped out, lunging forward. "Keith! You scared the quiznak out of me!" He pulled the raven-haired boy into a tight embrace. "Do not do that again, you hear me? Never again."

Keith, still confused, gives Lance an assuring pat on the back. "Uh sure. But didn't you tell me to act like I was dead?" He muttered out.

Lance pushes him back, hands fiercely gripping his shoulders. "That doesn't mean stop breathing! You really had me going for a minute there." He sighs out, relieved Keith is actually okay. "You should apologize to the kids. They were scared. More scared than me."

Keith raises an eyebrow, smirking. "Are you sure? They didn't try to kiss me back to life." He teased.

Lance fumed, standing up. "I was going to give you mouth-to-mouth! I wasn't- it's not like that!" Keith stood as well, crossing his arms.

"You can say that, but you'll never admit the truth that I'm actually really good-looking and you wanted to kiss me." The red paladin spoke mockingly, and Lance eyed him.

"D- Don't flatter yourself." He commented back, turning out the door.

For a moment, Keith just stood there in surprise. Lance had looked so deflated. The shock didn't last long, and he quickly sprinted out of the room to find the blue paladin in question.

He found him outside in the garden with Camila, Val and Miguel beside him. There was also a tall man with a much shorter but obviously older woman beside him. He opened the door, running outside to see who they were. All eyes turned to him.

"You gave us all quite a scare." Camila spoke, her voice filled with concern. "Are you okay Keith?" She asked, looking at him with worried eyes.

The red paladin looked around at the faces that looked afraid, for him. All except Lance who was looking away. "I was only pretending." He tried to reassure them.

"See Camila? He's fine." Lance added with a wave of his hand.

Lance's sister looked at her brother then Keith. Her worried gaze shifted into a smile. "I'm glad you're okay."

"You must be Keith." The taller figure stated, eyeing the raven-haired teen.

Keith turned to him. "Yes, and you are?"

The boy smiled widely, extending a hand towards the red paladin. "José McClain." Keith took his hand, shaking it.

The eldest woman beside José smiled, slowly nearing. "My grandsons and granddaughters can be quite the handful so I apologize on their behalf." Everyone glared at her behind her back. "You can just call me grandma." She smiled, and Keith agreed because he didn't want to disrespect her wishes.

Camila clapped, smiling as well. "Now that we know each other, let's get to work on dinner for our guests." The eldest sister distributed jobs to the youngest, then to José. "You two, could you rally up the cows and sheep? There are five cows and five sheep."

Lance gasped. "Five cows? We had six when I was here."

Camila looked unimpressed. "Well that was when you were here. Bessie passed away a couple of weeks ago. But we have a new one coming soon. Valentina Jr will give birth any day now."

"Was she in the barn?" Lance asked, wondering why he hadn't seen the cow.

His sister nodded. "She can't walk too much. Too painful. Right now, she's probably sleeping. She wouldn't have noticed you enter with the giant cat. Now go and rally up the cows and sheep. The horses should already have their saddles on."

"I just got a great idea." Lance declared, heading out the gate. Keith looked at Camila, who was smiling at him.

He turned again, heading after the blue paladin. Did people smile this often? How?

Turns out Lance's 'great' idea was to use Blue to rally up the cattle. It worked, given they nearly killed all the sheep at least three times. He even used Blue to race with the horses. Unsurprisingly, he won. Afterwards, he left Blue at the back of the barn again.

"I can't believe we almost stepped on the sheep. That would've really sucked." Lance was still laughing about it. Despite how funny the blue lion pilot was finding it, Keith was a little scarred. They almost killed five sheep with one mechanical giant paw.

Lance went from stall to stall with feed, feeding the cows, then the sheep and then finally the horses. "Yeah, it would have." Keith agreed, leaning against Blue who was purring in her mechanical sleep.

Lance gaped, looking over at Keith. "Did you just agree with me? That's a new one." He looked back towards the horse, extending a carrot. It took a bite, ending on the stem and where Lance's fingers held it. It neighed, padding away towards the back of the stall to lay down. The blue paladin moved back to the cows, throwing the top of the carrot into the cluster of them. 

Keith raised his eyebrow as Lance drew nearer. "Not everything you say is entirely false." The red paladin commented, gaining a growl from Lance.

The blue paladin sighed, frowning. "Keith, dude, lay off for a day, would ya'? You've been uptight and serious all day, even going as far as pretending to be dead."

"You told me to do that!"

"Yeah, well I didn't mean like, not breathing! I just meant fall over and- and stick out your tongue or something. I don't know, I just think you went too far." Lance paused, choking out a sob. "We lost Shiro already, do we have to lose anyone else?"

The red paladin pushed off the Blue lion, walking towards Lance. "Lance, I am not used to being around family. I grew up alone. I was just, confused, and then you told me to act dead and I really wanted to do my best. I am sorry for scaring you." He neared Lance who looked up at him with watery eyes, mouth formed into a quivering smile.

"Okay buddy, I'll forgive you." The blue pilot responded, wiping away his tears. "Just this once, I'll make an exception."

"Oh, just this once?" Keith quoted, looking at Lance in disbelief.

"Shut it, I just forgave you. Unless you don't want me to." Lance asked, laughing at the end. "C'mon mullet-face, let's go eat. By now, surely they are done." The blue paladin smiled, lightly grabbing Keith by the wrist and leading him back inside.

Both paladins entered the dining room, noticing grandma was sitting at the table knitting.

Camila left the kitchen with some dishes, and she saw the two paladins. The fact Lance still held Keith's wrist went unsaid, but she didn't miss it. "Lance, your eyes are all red. Are you okay?"

"He was crying." Keith responded for him. 

Lance cried out. "No! No I was not! Camila, Keith's a liar!"

Camila chuckled. "Okay girls, there's no need to point fingers. Both of you take a seat. Dinner is just about to be served."

Lance sighed, sitting down. He looked over at Keith, realizing he was still standing. "Are you going to sit or what?"

Keith pointed to himself, giving the other paladin a confused look. "She told the girls to sit?"

"Just sit down Keith." Lance bluntly commanded, watching the red paladin take the seat beside him.

A minute later, Miguel and Valentina entered and distributed plates and silverware. They too then took seats in front of Keith and Lance. The twins started muttering to each other. Val slapped Miguel on the shoulder before the boy turned back towards Keith.

"Are you an alien?" He asked abruptly.

Val beside him punched him this time. "You can't ask tha-!"

"Yes." Keith responded, gaining a weary look from Lance.

"Wow, really? You don't look like one. You're pretty." Valentina added, gaining a snicker from Miguel.

"Val's got a crush! Val's got a crush!" Mikey beside her teased. Valentina turned on him, growling.

"I do not! Stop saying that!" She cried back in response.

"Make me!"

"Miguel, Valentina, stop fighting at the table." Grandma spoke, continuing to knit. They glanced at her, then fell silent.

"So what kind of alien are you?" Miguel asked, ignoring the glares from his twin.

"Galran. Half Galran." Keith answered. 

"What's that?" Miguel inquired, sitting up straighter.

"An alien species. They are tall, furry purple aliens." Keith described. 

Miguel nodded. "What are they like?"

"They're evil." Keith stated.

"They aren't all evil." Lance added in, peering over at the red paladin. "Keith isn't evil."

"But most of them are." Keith provided.

Now it was Val who asked something. "Can you turn Galra? Or do you always look like you're human?"

"Dinner's ready!" Camila called from the kitchen, bringing out a large platter of chicken. José exited the kitchen as well, setting down a large bowl of rice and a large bowl of steamed vegetables.

Lance practically started drooling, happy to have real food again. He stopped himself from digging in. "Huh? Where's Mama and Papa?" The blue paladin put his fork down, looking to Camila for answers.

"At work. They are going to be home late tonight. You can tell them everything in the morning. Right now, we'd all like to know where you've been." She demanded, pointing the chicken on her fork at him.

"Yeah!" Val and Miguel simultaneously pitched in. José nodded, his face currently stuffed full of food. Grandma was too concentrated on knitting.

"Okay, okay. I guess I do have some explaining to do." Lance took some food onto his plate. Then glanced at Keith's empty plate. "Are you going to eat?"

Keith looked nervously at Lance. "Yeah? How much am I supposed to take?" He whispered, unsure of what he was supposed to do.

"Oh, I'll get it, don't worry." Lance assured, filling Keith's plate with food. He set it down in front of him. "Is that enough?" The blue paladin asked.

Keith picked up his fork. "Yes, thank you." He picked at a piece of chicken, slowly eating it. Much to his surprise, Keith was amazed by it's taste and quickly started eating all the chicken off his plate. 

"Come on bro, no more stalling. What happened?" Camila pried again.

Lance cleared his throat. "Very well then. I shall tell you the story about the galaxy's legendary defender: Voltron."

"What's Voltron?" Val asked, just barely able to see her brother over the platter of poultry.

"Val, let bro talk." Miguel nudged his twin.

Valentina huffed out her cheeks. "Okay, fine."

~~

Hunk chuckled, watching the Altean male stuff his face with pasta. "Huh? Huh? What do you think about THAT?" He emphasized, nudging Coran's shoulder.

Coran held up his fist, head up high. "This dish, it's delicious! I cannot believe I have survived as long as I have without such a divine meal!"

The yellow paladin chuckled again, amused. "Oh Coran we've only just scratched the surface! Just wait until you try the beautiful art of cooking in the form of pizza!"

"Pizza? Is that some type of reptilian creature?" The orange head asked, twirling his mustache thoughtfully. Hunk shook his head.

"Wha-. No. Pizza is like flat bread with tomato sauce and cheese. It's delicious."

Coran perked up, grabbing Hunk's wrist. "Then waste no more time! Show me this pizza!"

"Let's go!" The yellow paladin cheered, holding up Coran's wrist. They then proceeded to beeline their way to the nearest pizzeria.

**Author's Note:**

> Just posting another story that will never see the light of completion


End file.
